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Another returnee

A

Archive87

Members +
Gentlemen:
Away for some time and have returned.
It was my impression a bit ago that many (some) of the great campaigns had been redone to package all (repeat all) the requirements - ie, aircraft, scenery, missions, ground images, etc to eliminate that old heavy list of required stuff - which too often resulted in an incomplete campaign that failed for a variety of reasons. Maybe I'm wrong. But if not could someone direct me to the campaigns that are so packaged? I no longer have the 'smarts' and experience to dance through all the hoops only to find that I've missed some step and the whole thing crashes.
Archive87
 
All these views, and no answers, where in H... is the welcome comitee, ok, go to our campaign site,you can read and see if a campaign is self installing or not, Rami,capt.Kurt and others,made a lot of these self installing campaigns,however, there will still be some work to do i.e. I would call these campaigns "semi-self installing" because you will have to change the stock-scenery to have the optimal campaign,it depends of,if you will operate in Europe,The Pacific,The Mediteranean or East European teaters, Rami has made fine "read me's" for the extra installes and Under all circumstances there will be work to do for you. we have different interrests, I tangeled in 3 whole days to install an old campaign made by Rami for the Finland wars.I find that it is the big thrill to dig all these different planes etc.out. Good luck.
Killer Svend:ernaehrung004:
 
Also, in some of these "self-installers," some of the aircraft or objects used may be by authors who have desire not to have their work uploaded to SOH, therefore the user must download and install them separately.

Welcome back! :applause:
 
Archive 87

You don't say whether or not you include stock scenery only in your definition. Most of the campaigns done lately require custom replacement world scenery to work properly.

I did 2 inclusive PTO campaigns using the stock world scenery.

The first is 'The 9th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group in WWII - REVISED/FIXED.zip'. It's 100% inclusive of everything needed.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=44&id=2561

The second is 'Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-121 part 1 & 2'. It requires 6 file downloads because I didn't get permission from the authors to include in the auto load. They are all here at SOH. Otherwise it's complete.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=44&id=21818


http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=44&id=21837
 
Kurt:
I believe I remember those campaigns and was the reason for my post...will look them up. I used to be quite proficient in doing all the mods necessary, but the talent has probably fled with the years.
BTW - I was the flight surgeon for 8 sqd 49th tac fighter wing, Spangdahlem and points East in the 1960s. Inheritors of the PTO days. Yeah, I am that old.
Archive87
 
Kurt:
I downloaded and tried to install the 49th campaign into a clean CFS2 install. But although it said "installed correctly" I could not find it in the Campaign file of the CFS2 program. All I got was the standard US/Japan missions of the original.
Not sure what is now permitted re: no cd installs...at this late date, so will stay 'stum' but...

I do remember some of my JHS scenery installs etc and have dug out my three ring binders of all sorts of stuff from those halcyon days of development.
In any case, will try the VMF-121 campaign install and see if that is any better.
Appreciate the assistance.
-=Archive87=-
 
Kurt or Bookie:
Actually I did get them to install correctly (had to change (C:) Program Files to (C:) Program Files (x86) then they installed correctly. But...
A different question.
I have a massive amount of 5 arenas of combat (ETO, PTO, Eastern Front, Span civ War, Med, etc)
If I could correct some errors in various campaign mission programs, for example a 'called' aircraft that is not found in the database, it would allow me to use those deeply modified programs/missions that fail because an aircraft cannot be found. But (but) when I correct the aircraft called for in the mission program I get an "Access denied" Notepad error message. And I have no idea how to work around that. It would help me recover a huge amount of prior work with extensive scenery, aircraft, ground objects, effects, etc that were created a few years ago if I can go back and correct a few errors from before. However, this old guy does not know how to do that.
Any help out there?
Archive
 
I usually hand edit the mission file,you can open it with notepad.When you do this the program looks for the folder of the aircraft,ship ect so that's what you use, the folder name.

Hope this helps.

TheBookie
 
I edit by hand as well. But the easiest and most WYSIWYG way to swap aircraft and ships in and out of campaigns is to use Morton's utility. It doesn't permanently change the campaign files but as long as you have the utility loaded, the changes you make are there to use.

Mk_cfs2_util_v2.zip

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=49&id=6207

His description:

Features: 1. This makes it very easy to swap in and out your favourite aircraft/ships in the campaigns/missions. At the same time it gives you a quick overview of unidentified/missing aircraft/ships. Also, check or change allegiance, aircraft type/category.
2. Aircraft organizer - This is one alternative for organizing your aircraft in different "war-theaters" to keep the number of planes inside the CFS2 limits. Optional automatic updating of aircraft in Quick Combat.
 
Kurt:
Wonderful, you reminded me...I already had downloaded and used that utility years ago (ah the wonders of age). And remember how to use it. Great.
Why does one get that dreaded "Failure to initialize the database" error message? I get it now (sometimes) and remember being frustrated in not knowing why or what it meant, and therefore how to correct whatever error it was addressing.
And how do I reduce the widescreen display for CFS2 and go back to a more detailed smaller screen size (although I do have a wide screen monitor)? I think I remember believing that the wide screen would be neat, but the resolution deteriorates badly in this better unit.
Will try not to be a pest as I wade back into the world of CFS2.
-=Archive=- dcp












Kurt:
Wonderful
 
Failure to initialize is most often the result of having a combination of too many aircraft, ships and objects_dp's loaded. Because it is a combination of all 3 things, an exact number for each isn't really identifiable.

You can try removing folders or .dp's you aren't actually using until it starts loading again. Or you can use Martin Wright's ACman utility which stores plane folders where CFS2 can't see them rather than removing them. They can be called back any time using the utility. He also makes a version for storing ships.

ACman can be downloaded here
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/freeflight/acman.zip

Martin Wright's website is here
http://www.mwgfx.co.uk/

You can adjust your screen resolution and size in the settings feature. Click on the lower left hand corner of the start up page, then click on the advanced settings. A display settings window will open.

A larger screen should not deteriorate the quality, quite the opposite. Match the resolution to your screen's size, check the enable hardware acceleration box, and the trilinear filtering, MIP mapping, Anti-alias, T and L boxes.

Let us know if that works for you.
 
Kurt:
Wonderful reply. Will follow up, but it will take some time.
So, back to you with results in...a bit.
Thanks,
Archive87 -=dcp=-
 
Kurt:
Actually did not take long.
Another recalled utility (ACMan) that I remember using - loaded into all theater CFS2 models and all aircraft are below the max of 90...some are several levels lower. I remember earlier combining some models, eliminating others via Martin's utility, to reduce the total number. Have no idea how to evaluate amount of ground or naval object/imagery. I do remember some Japanese designer's wonderful Japanese naval vessels which I used.

Re: screen resolution et al:
I have a 24" monitor with native resolution of 1920x1080 and that is what CFS2 is set for. But my monitor should display at 1920x1080 x 32 bit- CFS2 I think only shows an option for 1920x1080 x 16 bit. Is that the problem? And if so what is the work around?

Just for completeness: I have checked all terrain tex size at 256, complexity at 89, object tex size at 512, vis at 40, frame rate at 30. But, the 'hardware accelerator box is not active, ie, not lit up and non-responsive. I have the display set at trilinear, anti alias, T & L and HTP mapping are checked.

So the only thing not active is the hardware accelerator box...and I have no idea what on earth that is supposed to do. And I see nothing that might change from "full screen (wide screen)" to something less. Yes wide screen should be better, but the main instrument panel is exaggeratedly wide with L to R distorted gauges and awful sharpness that resembles the old (what?) 600 x 800 or sumpin' monitor images from the CFS origin of time?

So, maybe it is the missing x32 bit part that is the problem. But that begs the question - what is the solution?
Cordially,
Archive87
 
Kurt:
short addendum:
Ships = 68 and all are Euro non- Pacific theater
Objects DP - 1,345
Maybe that helps.
Archive 87
 
That combo of objects, aircraft & ships total looks close to the limit that might give you the "failed to initialise" message.

Your graphics issue might be several things together:

I'll assume you're flying using a large window - full screen seems to give more Frame Rate (& other) issues these days

CFS 2 struggles to recognise newer graphic cards, so more often than not people use Nvidia/ Radeon software (Inspector/ Catlyst Ctrl etc.) to set the game graphics profile outside the game these days. You can achieve some spectacular improvements in graphics quality this way, way above the options presented within the sim "Graphics" menu page.

I suspect the stretched 2D panels are likely a function of your monitor settings. You should be able to choose to mimic the old square screen settings (puts a black strip down each side) by using the monitor's own menu & controls. Otherwise it's seeking out widescreen 2D panels &/or creating your own. Look at Morten's panels for some widescreen options.

BTW

I would not install CFS 2 in the Program Files (x86) directory. MS puts too many "write/modify" restrictions on this folder & contents, you might be battling a "smart" OS :dizzy: that thinks it's knows better & won't allow you to change/ modify things ... :banghead:
 
Uncle:
You are still around...great. I recall uploading and installing many of your fine scenery (?) etc modifications some time ago, when I was very active in CF2.
1. Yes, I do have CFS2 installed in the Program Files (86) folder. Will try moving it.
2. Ignorant re: "...Nvidia/ Radeon software (Inspector/ Catlyst Ctrl etc...." Where do I find these and use?
3. The objects DP = 1,345 is the largest and is only for the Pacific theater involved with Capt Kurt's program - objects DP in other theaters = far less.
4. I'll look into the monitor settings. Poke around and see what options float to the surface that I understand and can implement.
Thanks for the reply.
Stay healthy.
-=Archive=-
 
Uncle Tgt/Kurt

I guess there is another question I have (probably lots of company for this one):

What triggers the "Error loading mission file...corrupt or formatted improperly" message that pops up occasionally? And what can be done to find and correct the 'problem' - if anything?
I get this I guess since I have modded a great deal of the older campaigns that I have - and probably made some (several) errors.

I do need to update the scenery files for these older theaters (Europe, Pacific, Med, Eastern, Spanish Civil War, WWI) and will dig into the available updates and relearn the old install procedures.
Thank you for the attention and assistance.
Archive87
 
Mostly two things can trigger that error. One is what we are already discussing - too many combined files loaded. The other more common mission loading error is caused by a missing aircraft, ship or scenery objects needed in the mission.
 
Kurt:
Thank you. Have used ACMan and Martin's utility, and have whittled down most objects (unless they are specified as needed for a campaign), ships...not really that many in most campaigns (except maybe in the Pac theater where there are a few more). Ok, need some more digging and editing of mission files.
Will log out for awhile. Becoming a nuisance.
Appreciate the responses.
-=Archive=-
 
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